6 NO LONGER CAGED

After exiting the servant quarters, Jin Zhilan moved quietly across the dark courtyard, escaping all CCTV cameras and attracting no attention. She was familiar with places where cameras were located. At some places, she crawled on the floor to avoid security cameras. She was detouring towards the edge of the lawn, where parking space for outside vehicles were arranged. While moving silently through the grass in the courtyard she could hear the cheers from the banquet hall on the other side of the courtyard.

It was pretty cold outside. She shivered slightly as she wrapped her coat tighter around herself.

She stopped and then looked behind her. She took one last look at the mansion. She closed her eyes. Looking back at the time she spent in this mansion, more and more ugly scenes appeared in her mind. This is the Xu family household where she was physically and emotionally abused by Xu family for the last 3 years. She was forced into servitude in this home. The horrendous memories of time she spent in this mansion replayed in her mind like a movie reel.

The depressing words of everyone in the Xu family echoed in her ears. She felt a pang of ache as she recalled the past. For three years, she took all the tortures inflicted upon her, silently.

There was no time to dwell on the past, she told herself, yet she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for not being able to save her mother that night, three years ago.

Inhaling a deep breath, Jin Zhilan opened her eyes and muttered under her breath,

"Goodbye Xu family"

Jin Zhilan didn't give a second glance at the mansion. She turned around, looked ahead and moved slowly towards the car parking area, attracting no attention. Many Luxury cars were parked right outside the mansion. Since most of the security guards were stationed at the gate solemn and respectful for welcoming guests and for providing assistance to them if needed, the security in the parking lot was not as strong as it previously was. Even chauffeurs were not present in the cars, since they were also getting feast in another small hall outside the main mansion.  

Jin Zhilan looked around slowly. Making sure that no one was present in the parking lot, she tried to figure out the least expensive car among the cars parked in the parking space. Since the banquet was going on in the mansion, so many outside vehicles were present in the parking space. But only the most affluent people in the city were present today at the party. So finding an inexpensive car during such an occasion was a difficult task. But she also knew that if she tampered with an expensive car, it might trigger its alarm system and alert the security guards in the mansion. Other than relying on an outside vehicle, she didn't have any other choice for fleeing from this heavily guarded mansion.

While searching for a cheap and less advanced vehicle, she paused for a moment when her gaze fell on a darkened window glass of a car. Watching her own reflection on the dark glass, she chuckled ironically.

She was in a disgracefully untidy condition. She wore a filthy and stained dress and over her dress, she wore a thin creased shabby coat. A shawl was wrapped around her neck. She was barefoot and was carrying a shabby black backpack. Her hair was long and unkempt. She looked like a beggar girl dressed in rags.

Today whatever Guo Yan said was correct. She stank. She knew it. The kind of chores she had done in the mansion like cleaning, dusting, sweeping, laundry, dishes, etc naturally made her stinking.

Except for her, all the servants and guards in the mansion were allocated a monthly ration of toiletries and other basic items. It was Aunt Cao, an old servant in the mansion, who secretly shared her items with Jin Zhilan. Nevertheless, during daytime Jin Zhilan always made sure that she did not have a pleasant smell. That was her way to avoid all unnecessary trouble and attractions from other servants. And this method always worked until Guo Yan was transferred to the mansion.

Back to the present, Jin Zhilan was cursing her luck when she couldn't find an average car. Seconds were ticking by. Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to a car approaching the parking space and she hid herself in the dark.

The car slowed and stopped at a corner of the parking space. A man stepped out of the driver's seat with a small gift in his hand. He didn't look like a chauffeur. Rather he looked like a business executive.

He started walking hurriedly towards the mansion but stopped in his tracks when his phone started buzzing. He attended the call.

"Good Evening Boss"

"I have just reached Xu Mansion to deliver the gift"

While the man was busy with the call, Jin Zhilan started observing his car. It was definitely a low profile average car.

"OK Boss, I will buy everything and will reach back there soon'' the man hung up the call.Then he rushed to the venue with the gift.

Jin Zhilan deduced from the conversation that the man was in a hurry and would be back anytime soon. She started checking the technology of that car. It was a car with a less sophisticated alarm system. It took her several long excruciating seconds to successfully manage to open the trunk of that car without triggering the alarm system.

For a moment, she thanked her old neighbour in Boston, uncle Leo, in her heart for teaching her these techniques.

She hurriedly tossed her backpack into the trunk. Glancing around her surroundings for one last time, she climbed into the trunk and closed the trunk lid. It was dark inside. She closed her eyes and listened to every single voice outside the car.   

Barely after 5 minutes, she heard someone's fast footsteps followed by the sound of the car door opening. She had concluded that the man was back. Her conclusion was proven right when the car shook slightly indicating his entry inside. Then she listened to the sound of the car door closing followed by the sound of revving the car engine.

The car started moving slowly. One minute later, she could faintly hear people talking outside the car. She recognised some of the familiar voices of guards of the mansion and inferred that the car was passing through the main gate. She breathed a deep sigh of relief.

'I'm free at last. I am no longer caged in that Xu mansion.' she thought to herself.